The Blood of the Eagles
by Animegurl64
Summary: Tsunayoshi was never going to take over the Vongola, and Iemitsu wasn't the only parent to give him an interesting bloodline. Honestly, Hyper Intuition was the best they could come up with? Eagle Vision was a much better name. (or the AU where Tsunayoshi is Desmond, survives the Apple and somehow ends up trying to avoid leading an incompetent mafia group anyway.)


Here it is. 9 months after Chamiryokuroi posted her art of Tsuna in Ezio's outfit, and I went- I have to write this AU. And I have! Finally. Though I admit to have only recently started AC3 and that probably some of the plot has been fiddled with a bit.

So Chami, I dedicate this particular crossover to you, for your inspirational artwork and to prove that yes, these to fandoms can be crossed with respect to both plots. And I take some potshots at some of the unhealthier fandom theories. Sorry, couldn't resist :)

Disclaimer: I own neither KHR or Assassin's Creed and it's affiliated characters or works. Just for fun my friends. And the doctor/vet inspiration comes from an Avengers fic I read and didn't bookmark, but was fantastic, so if someone can find it again, I'll link to it in my profile.

Please feel free to leave a review for any reason.

* * *

'Well,' thought Tsuna as he watched Reborn's form fade into the distance, 'that probably could have gone better.'

He pushed off the sill and moved to shut the window, though he knew better than to think Reborn was gone for good. Reborn put on a good show, but really; he made the same mistake that everyone made with Tsuna. He thought Tsuna was a civilian, and so, he thought Tsuna would do whatever he was told if Reborn could scare him enough.

Which was interesting, because at this point in their association it should have become utterly clear that not only was Tsuna not going to do what he was told, but that he wasn't scared of what Reborn, the Vongola or even the Vindice could do to him.

You do not bargain with the power brokers of the world, you do not sit down and play games with them; you do not make world-changing gambles without being very, very sure of your position.

Tsuna walked over and sat at his desk. His fingers were twitching restlessly. The adrenaline was finally starting to wear off and it was sinking in just how utterly the board had changed. He picked up the metal paperweight on his desk, rolling the metal ball around in his hands, a nervous, ponderous gesture Reborn had tried and failed to break him of. Come to think of it, Reborn hadn't really managed to mold him to the Nono's expectations at all. Everything Tsuna was now, Tsuna had always been, even it had been refined a bit more now. He stared at the ball, running his fingers along the grooves that twisted and looped around it. He smiled.

And still they didn't see.

He'd give it a few days, then see where Reborn really sat. With the Curse of the Rainbow broken, the Pacifiers in the hands of the Vindice and the Arcobaleno once again free agents, things were bound to get interesting now. They thought they could make Tsuna do whatever they wanted, they thought they could maneuver him however they pleased, for some strange reason they thought they'd won. Tsuna was going to make them regret that assumption; he was going to make them pay for it _in spades._

They thought they had him trapped right where they wanted him. It was too bad really (for them anyway) that someone else had gotten to him first a long time ago. He had never been mafia and he certainly wasn't about for go back on his oaths just because his father and an old man across the ocean decided one day that Tsunayoshi Sawada was going to inherit the world's largest criminal organization or _**else**_.

 _Nothing is true. Everything is permitted._

He sat the Apple of Eden back on his desk, watching its glow fade and merge with the sunset. There was work to be done.

* * *

When the crazy baby calling himself the World's Greatest Hitman crashed into his life, Tsuna will admit he wasn't really all that impressed. Oh, he could tell that Reborn was strong all right, but strength didn't necessarily win battles. And as an Assassin, Tsuna wasn't fooled. The day his civilian alias was the only choice to inherit a mafia family was the day Daniel Cross walked into his house proclaiming himself to be a completely sane and stable individual. Also even if it was true, Alan Rikkin was never going to let the Brotherhood have access to those kinds of resources in his territory. On top of all this Tsuna was never going to have the kind of time to make the commitment to running the Vongola, because he was already committed to running the Brotherhood. A fact that he would not be telling his home tutor, but the point still stood.

So yeah, Tsuna wasn't all that impressed. But he'd still play along for now because it wouldn't do to dismiss potential allies out of hand just because of why they were meeting him. It was just a shame none of those potential allies were going to be the people that were supposed to be closest to him.

Example: his so-called Guardians.

Tsuna was not sold on this whole Guardian thing.

At all.

Tsuna's understanding of his Guardians and his roll in all this was contingent on Reborn's very poetic explanation of the role of the Vongola Sky Boss which is _"Rain, Storm, Cloud, Sun, Mist, and Lightning, he influences all of them. He understands and accepts all of them."_

His Guardians' roles were as follows:

The role of the Vongola Guardian of Storm, which is _"Continuously at the heart of the attack, the furious Storm that never rests."_

The role of the Rain Guardian, which is _"To become a blessed shower that settles conflict and washes everything away_."

The role of the Vongola Sun Guardian, which is _"Destroying the misfortune that attacks the Famiglia with their own body, they become the Sun that brightly shines upon an area."_

The role of the Cloud Guardian in the Vongola Famiglia, which is _"To be the aloof, drifting Cloud that protects the Family from an independent standpoint, and whom nothing can ever bind"_.

The role of the Vongola Lightning Guardian, which is " _To draw damage to himself and away from the rest of the Famiglia, serving as a lightning rod."_

The role of the Vongola Mist Guardian, which is _"Creating something from nothing, and nothing from something; thus bewildering the enemy, to render the Famiglia's true form intangible with visions of deceit."_

That was all very pretty sounding, but …what?! How on earth does that classify anything? Tsuna's calling bullshit right now because if that was the only way to run the Vongola Tsuna has no idea how they've survived this long.

Also, it would help if he had any faith in his Guardians whatsoever as subordinates. Which he doesn't? At all. Oh, he likes them for the most part, even when they annoy the hell out of him, and they are his friends but… he just can't see trusting them with anything important. For starters none of them ever listen to him, and more then that his friends are some of the most visibly destructive people he's ever met. That shit won't fly in the real world and he has no idea how they continually get away with in Namimori. (He suspects Reborn. Usually, the explanation for mafia related things boils down to Reborn. Tsuna would be more impressed if he wasn't well acquainted with Abstergo related cover ups.)

Tsuna's too used to a hands-off form of governing after 3 or more lifetimes of doing precisely that and frankly doesn't feel like he should have to micromanage all the crap his Guardians get into.

Chrome…Chrome was ok. She gets a pass for quite a lot if only because he knows she's the most dangerous of his Guardians, and he's not completely sure where her loyalties truly lie. But he's fond of Chrome and her quiet, respectful, and observant self. She'd make a decent Assassin if he waived some of physical requirements. It makes a nice contrast to the rest of his Guardians rather bombastic personalities.

Between Gokudera's inferiority complex and anger management issues, Yamamoto's suicidal tendencies and complete disconnect from reality, Ryohei's sister complex and general short-sightedness and tunnel vision, Hibari's destructive tendencies and complete disregard for anything that doesn't fit his extremely limited worldview and Mukuro's justifiable obsession (Tsuna can admit that much) with burning the mafia to the ground and his general insanity that works out to quite a lot of interpersonal and situational problems. Which everyone thinks Tsuna ought to be responsible for managing? Obviously, it's entirely his fault his Guardians have no idea what the words restraint, patience, subtlety and respect mean.

This isn't even mentioning the fact Lambo is an anxiety driven, highly emotional five year old with access to more explosives than anyone should ever need. Tsuna does try to take some responsibility for then young Bovino, if only because it has become clear no one else is going to. And Tsuna likes children, really. He just wishes everyone would stop undermining his authority so he could make some actual progress with Lambo's behavioral issues. It's all quite exhausting.

To quote Ezio, "I built this Brotherhood to last, with or without me." And Tsuna just does not get that vibe from his friends. He's not interested in making all their decisions for them and he's certainly not interested in having to be a bloody chaperone every time they go out.

But that's the rub isn't it? He can't trust his Guardians because for the most part, they can't think for themselves.

* * *

There's a carved stone disk in a drawer in Tsuna's desk, and if anyone ever cared to look closely enough, they'd realize it explained everything.

Why Tsuna had made the decision to say no and keep saying no. Why Tsuna had told Giotto (his ancestor, and later he tries to sync with him out of curiosity, only to find he has a negative sync rate, their ways of thinking just too different) he would destroy the Vongola before inheriting its legacy. And most of all, why Tsuna had left them all as he had.

Reborn finds it of course. He snoops through Tsuna's things on a regular basis to keep an eye on his wayward student, to make sure Tsuna keeps no secrets from him.

 _(Less spite at having to teach a Vongola brat and wanting humiliating secrets to terrorize him with, more worry Tsunayoshi will do something that will get him killed before Reborn can step in and explain the silly attempts at rebellion away, nowadays anyway. He doesn't quite remember when this changed, when it became more than a particularly unpleasant job he'd been angry about being subtly forced into by Nono, but it has something to do with that training camp he can't quite remember the specifics of.)_

(Tsuna keeps many secrets from him of course, he's not an idiot. He's still not sure where Reborn's true loyalty lies and until he knows, he's going to keep his mouth shut. He knows better than to assume the Hitman will stand with him.)

Reborn doesn't think much of the disk when he finds it. It's interesting, sure, and made of some kind of decorative stone inlaid with metals, and carved in strange patterns, but Tsunayoshi owns many of such trinkets, this is just another piece to add to the collection. Even as his instincts tell him its an important piece, Reborn brushes it off as something destined to become a favored knickknack, like the metal paperweight that sits on his desk. The silly child will play with it when he's thinking hard about something, or nervous, or stressed out and Reborn still hasn't managed to break Tsuna of that habit.

 _(Not that he's tried very hard. Having such an obvious tell is bad for a Mafia Boss but secretly Reborn finds this particular quirk of Tsunayoshi's adorable. To his frustration, he's finding more and more things about Tsunayoshi adorable. )_

 _ **(Vongola is not adorable, Vongola is fearsome and manipulative and has no sympathy or care for anyone other than itself and Reborn should not forget this just because Tsunayoshi does a lot of cute things. Not Reborn, who knows better than anyone alive just what the Head of the Vongola family is capable of.)**_

The thing Reborn forgets about Tsunayoshi is that, despite his father's bloodline, Tsuna is not Vongola.

(And he never will be.)

* * *

 _Dear 14 year old self, and doesn't that just sound self-serving, by now you will have realized just what I've done and what I had to become._

 _ **(His older self looks pale and washed out in the dim light of the morning of this memory. He wonders why his friends didn't realize that even before Older-Tsuna had been taken out by that Millefiore sniper he was already dead. His older self simply hadn't stopped breathing yet.)**_

 _What I am about to ask of you is ridiculous, but we're used to ridiculous requests. Let's face the facts; it's what we do. But before I get to that I have some advice for you, because you are young and Reborn and the others haven't worn you down yet. Do yourself a favor and don't let them._

 _ **(He looks, if possible, even more tired here)**_

 _The thing is, you don't have to go my route, don't have to be Vongola Decimo regardless of what anyone says. The world won't end because you don't take up the mantle, oddly enough. Its almost as if the world functioned before organized crime existed, silly thought isn't it? Everyone seems to think Giotto appeared out of thin air, they make the mistake of thinking just because something is one way, and it has always been so. They forget that Giotto is called Primo for a reason, he is the first leader, and we know better than anyone how easy it is to kick down an empire. The world doesn't end because an empire falls, it just goes on. The world will march forward whether there is a Vongola in it or not. Something else will fill the position. But you know this already it isn't a surprise._

 _"It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to ones enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to ones friends." I quote, because it's relevant to our situation._

 _I made a terrible mistake: I let them make me think there was no other way. It is amazing the sacrifices we make for love, but sometimes,...sometimes it isn't worth it. Not when you lose your way, not when what you've become is only possible because you've killed all the parts of yourself that protest it. Because you let them bend you to their expectations._

 _If you let what Reborn- what the others think dictate your choices, this is what is going to happen. Byakuran exists because it took too long to stop Juno, because I was so busy with the Vongola that I forgot the enemy that was really important. Everything she does has consequences to the whole world, you think this place is bad? Then you should wonder why this battle isn't taking place in Italy. There's a reason I rule the Vongola from Namimori._

 _When Reborn-_ _ **(and his older self chokes up a bit here, but continues)**_ _-when Reborn died, it was a revelation for me, because I realized just how bad things had gotten and well, he's dead so what can he say about my choices? His opinion doesn't matter anymore, not now. So since I'd already done some stupid things, I figured crazy was my only option. So here's the result of crazy –_ **you** _. You haven't been forced to make my choices yet, so you have a shot at fixing things. If_ _there is one good thing that comes from this, let it be the knowledge of the Trinisette._

 _See, it's not quite a Piece of Eden, but for our purposes it will work regardless. The Trinisette, in particular the Arcobaleno Pacifiers, are the key to stopping Juno. So what you have to do is this: Break the Arcobaleno free from the Pacifiers and you'll have yourself a way to stop her. If you can break the curse, the rest will fall into place._

 _But it's not going to be easy. The Trinisette as it is does actually serve a purpose -just not the purpose everyone thinks it has. You remember the Global Solar Shield? Well the batteries for charging it, the keystones? Those were used to make the Trinisette. So, understandably the shield is not functioning optimally right now. You'll have to figure out how to replace those before you can work on getting your hands on the rest of the Trinisette because believe me, without new Keystones in place the rest of the plan doesn't work. But you're a smart boy; you'll work it out._

 **(** _ **His older self seems to deflate at that, the last bit of Will gone in to delivering this message.)**_

 _I am…I am tired, so tired. We've been living on borrowed time since we were fourteen and now I feel its time to finally pay up. I've done my best for them, but I'm not enough and I never will be, I see that now. I can't be what they want; you can't either, please if nothing else remember that. But there's no reason left to stay here._

 _So now I'll say goodbye._

 _Good Luck Tsunayoshi. You're going to need it._

* * *

Tsuna finds the memory seal in the-future-that-will-never-be the same way he finds everything. Despite what his Ten Years Later self would say, the mafia never manages the get all the Assassin out of him. It's why Tsuna wins against Byakuran in that desolate place.

And it's why in the end, he begins Project Gulf Stream.

(Because really, his older self had just handed him the Key to stopping that lying bitch of a false goddess. And hey, if it helped Reborn in the process, well that was just a nice bonus wasn't it? Revenge was going to be sweet.)

* * *

Tsuna's not sure who's more surprised when he wakes up, alive, on the floor of the Grand Temple: him or the poor Abstergo mook who's taking a blood sample.

It doesn't matter though because he's already moving, Hidden Blade out and lethal, stabbing through the mook's throat just as the others raise the alarm. He grabs the Apple, because fuck it, at this point he's shed too much blood over the damn thing to leave it in Templar hands and he's moving. He's moving like Altair, ghosting through the tunnels at a dead sprint, taking out anyone stupid enough to get in his way, but he's injured and out numbered.

He breaks into the sunlight of a new day and keeps going. He's Connor now, running past the Abstergo mooks into the forest and he's a ghost in the woods, flying sharp and sure, over brush and rocks, through the trees, a blur of white that no one can catch, not who hasn't lived and worked these woods all their lives, just like Zio taught him as a child. He has to find Shaun and Becca, get to the rendezvous point because they're alive, they have to be or there wasn't a point to his sacrifice.

But they aren't there.

Everything after that becomes a bit of a blur.

Memories of those days come in snatches, but he's been on his own now long enough that he can take care of himself and well he apparently has 3 master Assassins and a total nut job in his head so if nothing else he takes advantage of the craziness that the Bleeding Effect has wrought and makes things work.

Clay Kaczmack knew some people in New York, knew how to survive on its streets and now he tell Tsuna how to do so, the others chiming in occasionally. It's a bit weird, but Tsuna's less worried about his sanity than he is about his survival at this point so the fact his ancestors talk directly to him now is less worrying than it probably should be.

Ezio was a master pickpocket so he takes over for awhile and soon enough Tsuna has a stolen cell phone and enough cash to at least get some basic supplies before Clay is directing him off to the back alley of a Veterinary Clinic to get looked at. No one in Tsuna's head, least of all Tsuna, is going to risk a hospital.

Dr. Rei Takamura could be a good doctor if she'd stop selling prescriptions out of her back office at the clinic. It's about all that's stopping her from getting a license and opening a legitimate practice. As it is, he's glad she's willing to take a look once he drops Clay's name, says he's his younger brother. Desmond Kaczmack, call me Dez, is the name he gives, because he's not willing to let go of that alias yet. Not after everything it's been through, and maybe he's hoping Shaun and Becca will hear it somehow and come looking for him. Desmond Miles was so much more capable than Tsunayoshi Sawada after all. Desmond Miles was also a 20-year-old man, not a 14-year-old boy, though he's not entirely sure why people buy that line when he tells it to them. Maybe its because he isn't a child anymore, not with all the things he's been through, not to mention the fact he's lived 3 or 4 lifetimes at this point. Tsuna doesn't think he's a child anymore.

Dr. Takamura, call me Rei, pronounces herself astounded at her survival. She can join the club because Tsuna is president of it and he's pretty sure no one is more surprised than him. He doesn't tell her where he got the injuries, and she doesn't press, though he can tell she wants too. She does say that they will scar.

Tsuna wonders how he's going to explain the scars to people. Maybe as a new tattoo trend? His arm looks like a cross between a circuit board and a firestorm. And he knows it winds all up his arm to his shoulder and runs partially down his back and chest. His P.T. exercises leave him screaming inside. He's got a head wound stitched up on the back of his head, one cut on his left eyebrow, and of course the scar on his lips he gained when he was first kidnapped and brought to Abstergo.

He avoids thinking about that experience as much as possible. In some ways Abstergo and Dr. Vidic had been kinder. That doesn't say much for Fredrico di Vongola and his women and, for once, he's glad about a death even if he can't figure out precisely how he burned that man to his bones. Altair, Ezio, Connor and Clay have some theories, but mostly their words are tinged with pride, so he isn't worrying about it right now. Maybe it's the spark Juno had talked about needing that makes him pyro kinetic. It's probably a First Civilization thing, now that he thinks about it. But it's also not important at the moment.

But he heals. He makes contacts. He does jobs. He gets a reputation in New York's Underworld as a thief who can break any security system with out getting caught and if you need a job done quick and right, he's the man you come see. _(It's on one of these jobs he meets Fredrico again and for once Revenge isn't served cold but hot as the fires of Hell and sometimes he's wonders if its his or Ezio's satisfaction but hey, Fredrico's dead so…)_ That's around the time his past catches up with him.

Words can't decide how happy he is to see Shaun and Becca. Somehow, someway they managed to track him down. And they bring with them the one person he never thought he'd see again, impossibly.

Lucy.

Lucy, who he'd thought he'd killed under the influence of that bitch Juno, but who'd managed to survive. She tells him that the Templars found her in Juno's temple and took her back to California, though she'd been in a coma. They hadn't been too happy with her when she woke up, because Vidic apparently hadn't mentioned his little secret project to anyone. When Shaun and Becca had gone to California where they thought his body had been taken (and as creepy as that sounds, he's unbelievably touched that Shaun and Becca cared about him enough to risk heading an operation to steal his remains from a heavily guarded Abstergo facility. Like he knows he's valuable, but still, for them the mission had been personal) Lucy had managed to get into contact with them, meet up and hand over a whole bunch of Intel, and skip merrily on their way before the Templars were any the wiser and their little project had gone up in flames.

From this Tsuna learns two important things: 1.) Lucy had turned traitor to the Brotherhood before she'd met him and 2.) Lucy had now turned traitor to the Templars as well for him. It's enough to make a guy blush. And yeah, there are a lot of things to be worked out between them, and yeah there are going to be some trust issues but mostly? He's just glad to have all his people back.

The four of them now constitute a sort of rogue cell in the Order, which is less of a problem than it sounds like. Shaun and Becca have neglected to mention his survival to William (which was prudent of them because for a while there Tsuna had been pretty sure Bill was ready to let the catastrophe happen just to reset the game between the Assassins and Templars) which is technically treason but as the Order doesn't really exist in the same capacity anymore no one can call them on it. The secrecy makes a ridiculous amount of sense.

So now that they've walked through that particular fire they have to answer a new and interesting question. They've seen through the lies, so now what do they do with what's left?

Well, it's Altair that provides the answer. The Order as it is cannot stand against the Templars, so they'll have to rebuild. Properly, he states, because he isn't sure what the modern world calls Assassins really counts. Altair knows that the Assassins' have to change with the times, he maybe knows that better than anyone living or dead but somewhere along the lines he wonders when the Brotherhood of Assassins became less of a Brotherhood and more of an army. The Assassins have never been an army that was the point and strength of the Brotherhood. Precision strikes over troop numbers. Asymmetrical warfare at its finest. Tsuna thinks this rebuild of traditional values should start with them and he's right.

They start from the bottom and end up getting into contact with the Asian branch at the end of it all. The Asian branch is based in China, where Shao Jun had started her flock and has remained strong for the 500 years after her death. They've moved occasionally, but have remained basically the same. And as a bonus, they also hate Bill.

Tsuna considers them too valuable on this point alone to not ally with.

So, somehow they managed to beat both Abstergo Templars (horrendously difficult) and global custom officials (moderately less difficult) and organized crime (so laughably easy it hurts) and meet up at Hong Kong International Airport with Shao Meiling who Tsuna loves immediately.

In a test and trial that Tsuna attempts to drive out his mind as he passes it flawlessly, Meiling decides not only does she like them enough to let them call her by her first name; she leads them to the Headquarters of the Asian assassins.

Said aforementioned is located somewhere in what is referred to as Zomia in upland southeast Asia, more specifically in southern China. It is a mountainous and very large region, which the State can't quite seem to get under control. So of course it makes perfect a hideout for the Brotherhood.

"As Francois Baron de Tott once said " The steepest places have always been have always been the asylum of liberty," says Meiling as she leads them up the mountainside, through the jungle. Tsuna thinks this make sense, Shao Jun clearly took a page out of the book of the Levantine Assassins when she created her branch of the brotherhood. The thought of Masyaf still brings some sadness to him.

It's while they are working with the Zomian Assassins that it becomes clear Tsuna's going to have to go back to Namimori, at least for a while. Tsuna is, predictably, not super thrilled with this development. He'd really prefer to never go back but one of Meiling's contacts has unearthed some rather damning Intel that there's a Temple in the area, and while no one knows where it is or how to open it, someone still has to be on tap to deal with any problem. And that someone has to be Tsuna.

Namimori is, for some reason they can't understand, an incredibly closed community and previous attempts to set up a Bureau in and around the area have been mysteriously warded off. This wasn't a problem before but now? Now they have clear evidence of a Precursor cache and that means someone's got to go in.

And as Tsuna is a Namimori native, that someone has to be him, because this can't get fucked up by mysterious outside forces with no idea how to play the game. It's too important.

* * *

It is remarkable how little has changed in his hometown. It's less remarkable no one noticed he was missing for two years. It's just unsettling how unconnected to reality his mother is.

Like ok, he's always known his mother lives in her own little world and that she and reality had divorced fairly amicably before he was born probably, but this is a bit ridiculous. He'd been prepared with a pretty decent cover story about what had happened, but she just wondered why he'd forgotten the milk.

No, really. She sent him back out to the corner store to grab some.

Apparently his two-year disappearance was explained by her version of reality as him getting lost on the way to the corner store. Tsuna doesn't even know what to do with that. Neither do his ancestors. Nana Sawada has just shocked five of the most travelled, worldly people in history into total silence with her complete inability to function in the real world. It's mindboggling.

Having staked out the Temple, caught up on gossip and familiarized himself with the layout of the town again, there's nothing left to do but to go back to school.

School is predictably hell. Nana had just enrolled him into Namimori Middle School, apparently unconcerned with the fact he's not 12 anymore, but he goes without complaint. Evidently in his old reality no one cared enough to notice his disappearance, so no one notices him slide back into place. It goes as well as he expects, which it not well at all.

Tsuna hadn't been a great student to begin with, but his time in the Animus has left him with a whole new skill and knowledge set, none of which was learned by studying and some that is just plain outdated. For example, he can now speak, read, and write in at least seven languages fluidly but pass first year chemistry? That's beyond him. And he doesn't have much to drive to learn right now either, not while he's trying to remember civilian responses and studying things related to the mission. And his sleep schedule is shot to hell. So yeah, his grades? Not really a good representation of his actual intelligence.

On top of this he's clumsy because he's always compensating for 2 extra feet of height and about 100 pounds of body mass, so his balance is off. Like really off. As Ezio laughingly puts it, he's tripping over sunlight. It doesn't matter in life or death situations, or when he's doing training runs because he just goes on autopilot, but when he's trying watch his responses? He over thinks and trips. Connor placates him, reminding him he's going to grow into his adult height eventually. He likes Connor best for this; the others just smile knowingly at the novice who's finding his wings.

At least he's never alone. It's like having a whole group of best friends. Who are also his grandparents? And who never, ever, leave him alone.

Why was this a good idea again?

In addition to all these problems, he's a social pariah at school. So ok, he has zero interest in middle school antics and absolutely no patience with keeping the social mores of a hierarchy that will never exist outside of itself, not when he has the Ottoman courts, the nobles of various city states in Italy in his head, and the Brotherhood to run most of the time. Predictably this makes him not particularly well liked when combined with his apparent stupidity and utter ineptitude at sports.

He hates that this matters to him still, just a little bit. He's not looking for bonds that will last a lifetime, he already has those in Lucy, Shaun, Becca and Meiling, he's not looking for allies, not with all of the Zomian Assassins he knows, not with the others he's made friends with in various missions to northern Europe, but he's a social creature at heart and he does like to have conversations with other people occasionally. The total negativity of his social status puts a damper on that. Dame-Tsuna, that's what they call him. He laughs at the irony of his perceived uselessness. Useless people don't make good Assassins and they don't stop the end of the world. Their ignorance seems a grand joke some days, a horrific irritant on others.

Luckily there's Kyoko Sagasawa, who is a ray of sunshine most days, and her friend Hana Kurokawa, who is a sarcastic little spitfire that reminds him just a bit of Panthesilea d'Alivano, and the fact Kyoko seems to be on this mission to be on good terms with everyone she knows. Tsuna doesn't know why, or care, but he does look forward to seeing the pair everyday, even if they seem to think he's as useless as everyone else does. In another life he could love Kyoko for this. As it is, he's been married 3 times in his head, and has a group of friends and allies who would stay at his side through the literal end of the world, so his standards are just a tad higher.

And then, early into his second year of middle school, he gets the feeling he's being watched. He easily confirms this with Eagle Vision, but it's not someone he recognizes. He lets his teams know, and spends the rest of the week acting as Dame as he can, hoping to hell he hasn't been recognized.

 _(But... But if he has there's the Apple of Eden sitting innocently on his desk, his robes and armor in the back of his closet-disguised as cosplay and weaponry under the bed and he carries his Hidden Blades on his wrists. The earring lodged in the upper cartilage of his ear is a Precursor artifact lent to him by Meiling and will give the watcher, like it gives everyone, exactly what he or she expect to see and nothing more. It's a brilliant illusion and he isn't sure how it works but it does, because no one ever sees his scars or the weapons he hides under his sleeves. They expect a second year middle school student, a useless one, and that's exactly what they get. Sometimes the best place to hide is in plain sight.)_

Then his mother gets a flyer for a Home Tutor, which in the insane reality she inhabits she considers legitimate. And apparently Tsuna's grades could use the work, so she buys into the obvious scam.

It brings a suit and fedora wearing toddler to his house, and with a "Ciaossu", he knows not only is the whole op in danger of being compromised, but life in general just got more complicated.

Somewhere, he thinks, a false-goddess is laughing at him as the patterns of destiny weave ever onward.

* * *

The worst part of the Bleeding Effect was just how often Tsuna forgets he isn't talking to his Assassin allies of the past. Oftentimes he still forgets he isn't Altair or Connor. But most of the times he forgets, Tsuna forgets he isn't Ezio Auditore da Firenze, probably because he spent the most time in the Animus as the Florentine.

And so many of the people he meets remind him of ghosts.

Reborn is by far the worst because Reborn reminds him so much of Volpe.

 _And it would be just like the old fox to have children and not tell the rest of us,_ thinks Ezio in fond exasperation. Memories of the tricky master thief, nights spent crouched on rooftops, days spent inside the Sleeping Fox Inn just outside of Rome, races through the streets of Florence, all dance merrily through his head during Reborn's training sessions. Volpe had been such a tricky bastard, clever as they came, swift as the wind, could charm the socks off you even as he annoyed you into strangling him, and always so very well informed of the goings on in his territories. Ezio always knew Volpe never told anyone a quarter of a quarter of what he knew, but he never cared. Florence was Volpe's territory and they made a good team. Ezio never cared for the day-to-day goings on.

This changed later on in Rome, especially after the whole thing with Nico, but Ezio was older and wiser then. Also, Ezio was running the Brotherhood in all but name and Volpe and Nico made his left and right hands. Plus, Volpe was really getting on in years by then, even if the Fox was still running the Thieves Guild, so he wasn't taking center stage anymore. But trickiness aside, Volpe had always been a staunch ally and a trusted friend and Reborn reminds him of the old thief master so much it hurts.

Tsuna thinks it's his smile that does it. Reborn always has those infuriating smirks that suggest he knows exactly what's going on and shame on Tsuna for not realizing that. He certainly doesn't look Volpe otherwise (this is a barefaced lie, Renato Sinclair is nearly an analogue of La Volpe the same way Tsunayoshi is for Ezio, not that he'll realize that until the Representative War) but that smirk still makes Tsuna want to smack it off his face.

And wouldn't you know it? Annoying Reborn is just as satisfying as annoying Volpe had always been.

* * *

Since evidence has led Tsuna to believe that the mafia is entirely populated by a pack of phenomenal idiots, Xanxus is kind of a pleasant surprise. Well, he says pleasant but he's pretty sure everyone who knows Xanxus would disagree. But it's meeting Xanxus that really brings home how much of a mistake Nono made naming Tsuna his successor because, damn it, Xanxus is so clearly meant to be the next Don Vongola.

And of course that thought has nothing to do with that upon meeting him Ezio's shade had whispered, ' _Uncle Mario?'_

Ezio clearly remembers meeting Mario Auditore that second time, when he was taking his mother and sister away from Florence and running for their lives and Xanxus just touches that hole in Tsuna's heart that aches for proper parents or at least parental figures. Before Xanxus even speaks he has this self-possessed demeanor, one that clearly expects to be obeyed and his subordinates clearly respect him. And Ezio remembers training sessions at Monterrigioni, sparring with Mario, working with the condittoleri, feeling like home even though home was gone now and Tsuna almost physically aches for that feeling.

Mario had run his lands and men with a strong, firm hand and Tsuna remembers when the haze of anger and hurt and guilt had lifted somewhat just how much he wanted to grow up to be just like his uncle. Xanxus, even with his wildfire temper, is like that. The Varia, despite apparently wanting to kill him, feels like home, like Monterrigioni had never fallen and Tsuna wants so, so badly to go with them, to be a part of something familiar again. Instead of, he thinks bitterly, refereeing his friends' stupid fights constantly and never being listened to no matter how he tries to win their respect.

He trains so hard and fights Xanxus to the absolute best of his currently limited abilities, not because he wants to keep the Vongola out of Xanxus's hands (because no matter what Reborn and Iemitsu say, the Vongola is headed to more war and bloodshed anyway no matter who leads next and Tsuna just kind of wishes they'd drop that line already) but because he wants Xanxus to acknowledge his abilities the way Mario used to. And maybe, in the dark of lonely midnights, he imagines impressing Xanxus so much that he'll steal Tsuna away back to wherever the Varia have their base and he can have a home and a family again.

This wish never comes true because Tsunayoshi is an Assassin to the core and will never abandon his Brotherhood but he does win Xanxus' respect. It's a bittersweet relationship, but it also annoys the crap out Iemitsu, confuses the hell out of Reborn, and Tsuna knows he'll always have an ally in his Uncle.

 _(It confuses the hell out of Xanxus too, but he likes his tiny cousin even if he shouldn't. And maybe sometimes he wishes the world were a different place because Tsunayoshi would make fantastic successor to his throne, and he can see just how well the boy would fit in with the Varia. And maybe Xanxus can see just how the Vongola will break Tsunayoshi if Nono and Iemitsu get their way, which tends to keep his temper burning rather hot.)_

* * *

But if Reborn is like Volpe and Xanxus is like Mario then Chrome is like Claudia. This one confuses Tsuna, because Chrome and Claudia are basically nothing alike on the surface. Claudia had been all fire and steel, loud and brash and a force to be reckoned with, able to beat down any obstacle in her way. Chrome is quiet and subtle, would rather go around than through and always questions her self worth. But both of them always get what they want in the end and have cores of made out of diamond, even if it took Tsuna longer to see it in Chrome's case.

So Tsuna sees Chrome as a little sister and as his little sister she's his unabashed favorite. This has the side effect of irritating all of his Guardians and also confusing Mukuro, which is always funny. Reborn has had to break up more than one fight started by the fact he so very obviously favors Chrome, and has brought it up with Tsuna more than once. Usually in the context of how he shouldn't play favorites with his subordinates but given the fact Tsuna doesn't consider any of his Guardians subordinates the point is moot.

He'd name Chrome as his right-hand if he'd thought that'd get him anything but chaos. He's tempted to do it regardless some days. He's pretty sure Chrome knows how blatantly he favors her, even if outsiders would see a particularly considerate friend. And because they have the same sense of humor, she lets him fuss with little complaint.

 _(Chrome can see how damaged he is on the inside, even if she never brings it up. Chrome knows all about damaged people after all.)_

* * *

Dino, weirdly, reminds him of Leonardo. (Not Verde interestingly enough. When he'd heard Reborn say Verde was just like Da Vinci when they met him the first time, Tsuna's first reaction was to say, _**no he isn't**_ , very vehemently. That had netted him some weird looks.) Ezio thinks it's his attitude. Leo had been so excited about life and everything it had to offer after all. He was a ray of sunshine in Ezio's otherwise dark existence.

The modern world remembers Leo as this really serious scientist and artist but Ezio remembers Leo in happy greetings no matter how long it'd been since he visited, late paintings with irate clients and absolute joy in creating miraculous things and exploring all the world had to offer. It was the friendship that lasted all his life, even if he didn't see Leonardo nearly as often as he would have liked. Even though Tsuna never officially met Leonardo, he still misses his best friend something fierce.

Dino Cavallone may not have Leonardo da Vinci's intelligence and skill, but he has that same sunny attitude. He's friendly, treats his family like family and clearly cares about what goes on around him. It's just so unfortunate Dino didn't inherit Leo's love of questioning authority, because Leo wouldn't Reborn get away with half of what he does to Dino. But Dino loved Tsuna immediately so Tsuna tries to return the favor and not act like his heart is breaking into pieces every time his self proclaimed older brother visits.

 _(Reborn notices though, despite Tsuna's attempts to hide it. His two students always seem to get along smashingly, but there's this sense of dissonance and disconnect on Tsuna's side. Reborn tries to limit Dino's contact with Tsuna because of this, which forecasts bad things for the Cavallone-Vongola alliance and the more he can make it harder to see for Dino the longer said alliance will last, and not at all because every time Dino visits Tsuna inexplicably wakes up in tears.)_

* * *

Except for Shamal, everyone else has some passing resemblances that make it difficult for Tsuna to remember where he is some days.

Mukuro reminds him of Antonio. The Venetian thief had been a little shit too, but had always looked after his men, regardless of his personal feelings. Additionally Mukuro and Antonio have the same sort of shadow-puppeteer dictator thing going on, which Tsuna always appreciates. This gives him more insight into how Mukuro works than either Mukuro or Reborn would like.

Ryohei and Hana remind him of the d'Alvianos. Ryohei has all of Bartolomeo's enthusiasm and cheer. His constant decisions to take life by the shoulders and drag it along behind him are a welcome reminder of happier days. He's got all of Barto's protective instincts too, which has its benefits. Hana's got all of Pantesilea's fiery spirit and intelligence. And her quick wit so even if she doesn't like him that much, she's always refreshing to be around. Hana and Reborn also can't understand Tsuna's insistence he'll be paying for her wedding when she gets older, and it freaks them out a bit. Also it turns out Mammon runs the betting pools in this day and age, so Tsuna has a small bet on Hana and Ryohei getting together and marrying first which Mammon gave 1000 to 1 odds on. (He wins this bet too, which ends up making him a rich man once Xanxus tracks him down.)

Aria, though he only meets her the once, reminds him of Paola which is something he doubts she, Gamma, or her men will ever appreciate knowing. Then again maybe not, he doesn't know Aria all that well honestly. Maybe she'd be flattered by the comparison to an Italian renaissance sex goddess.

No one he meets remind Ezio of his parents, a fact for which he is thankful. Giovanni and Maria Auditore, god rest their souls, were special and he never wants anyone to take their places.

* * *

Shamal though… Shamal reminds him of Niccolo Machiavelli.

This less personally hurtful and more incredibly terrifying than anything the Bleeding Effect has thrown at him. Ezio had never loved Nico for one thing, he was more of an associate than a friend, but towards the end of his life Nico had been an important person in his life.

Nico was also cunning, intelligent, one hell of a politician and absolutely ruthless when it came to getting what he wanted, so Shamal's resemblance to him is…worrying. Shamal presents himself as this womanizing, ADHD, sketchy and shady doctor but pretty much the instant Tsuna meets him he can see through this façade. Shamal is Not Happy to see Tsuna and Utterly Displeased at having to treat him, and if Reborn hadn't been there, well honestly Tsuna would just have risked using the Apple because he doesn't want a man like Nico, who also doesn't like him, in any way responsible for his wellbeing.

Ezio was wary of Nico, even when the two of them were friendly and that carries over into his interactions with Shamal, the few there are because Tsuna makes a habit to avoid the man whenever possible. Inexplicably, this type of attitude seems to endear him to Shamal more than anything in the few Reborn-forced meetings they have. Tsuna remains wary though. Ezio trusted Nico with his life but that was after years fighting the Borgia together. Tsuna doesn't trust Shamal with his health, sanity or the well being of his friends unless Reborn is there because Shamal hasn't proven he is trustworthy. So he doesn't court the doctor's favor, even if good doctors are worth their weight in gold. They always have been for the Brotherhood, but especially nowadays when it's more likely than not a hospital will be a Templar Den in disguise, or that going into any medical clinic will have Abstergo on your ass before you can say 'I need this prescription filled'.

Tsuna's pretty sure Shamal's cottoned on to the fact something is Not Right with him though. He may play at easily distracted, but someone who has Reborn's respect didn't get that way by acting the way Shamal does all the time. No, Shamal is way to good a doctor not to notice something's wrong, even if Tsuna isn't saying what.

 _(Tsuna's right on all counts here, Shamal knows something's up with the Vongola heir from the word go. In the beginning he doesn't care because he has no interest in being attached to the Vongola in any capacity, but Sawada's apparent understanding of that is intriguing. Other heirs would court his favor for his acceptance into their families, especially with Reborn backing them. Sawada though, Sawada stays the hell away from him unless absolutely necessary. And annoys Reborn for the entertainment value, though he won't be telling the Hitman that anytime soon. This makes Tsunayoshi Sawada and intriguing little puzzle and well, Shamal loves nothing more than a mystery, even if it nets him some pointed questions from Reborn about why he sticks around despite Sawada's apparent lack of interest.)_

* * *

All in all though, these little coincidences are what make the Bleeding Effect manageable rather than problematic. Since Tsuna has to keep on his toes during these interactions more often than not, it makes it less likely Venice or Florence or Rome or Constantinople or Jerusalem will bleed over into his reality.

It's just unfortunate that the stress he accumulates from interacting with his friends on a daily basis makes that happen more often than not.

* * *

So Reborn isn't stupid ok?

He's the Greatest Hitman in World and that's not a title one can claim without having the balls and skills _to back it the fuck up_. But that aside, he isn't omnipotent. Oh, he likes to claim that he is, but the fact of the matter is that Renato Sinclair is just as human as anyone else and can in fact, make mistakes.

Occasionally those mistakes come back to bite him in the ass.

For example: **Tsunayoshi Sawada.**

Reborn hears about Tsuna years before they actually meet. He's been called into assist Lal with something or other and unfortunately that means putting up with Iemitsu Sawada for a certain length of time. And make no mistake, he's going to charge Lal through the roof for that, a fact she isn't unaware of. But anything Lal needs help with badly enough to call him, well. The Arcobaleno have rules about this kind of thing. Or guidelines anyway.

Whatever he's here for the foreseeable future and that means not murdering the twit that calls himself the Young Lion of the Vongola. No matter how much he actually wants too. Even if it would get him peace and quiet for at least 10 minutes.

But no, Iemitsu is Nono's favorite for some strange reason Reborn's never been able to comprehend so that means he has to listen to the twit go on and on about his darling wife and adorable son, who is about 5 years old by Reborn's estimate. He isn't sure why Iemitsu's gone so far as to give him photographs of the two given that Reborn's, you know, one of the best killers on the planet and could probably hunt these two down no problem in like 3 days top, but Iemitsu's never been terribly brilliant in that respect.

Objectively, Reborn thinks that the fluffy little boy in the pictures is pretty adorable, but also wouldn't survive 5 minutes in the Underworld, which makes any other thought he has about the child moot point. But Nono smiles indulgently at Iemitsu and lets him talk on and on about his 'cute little Tuna-fish' and Reborn just tunes him out. In fact the only other person who seems interested in little Tsunayoshi is Frederico, his two older brothers having mentally checked out of the conversation a while ago and now doing various things to pass the time.

It's a pity that none of them notice the calculating gleam in Frederico's eyes as he considers the little boy in the pictures, because if they had then they could have saved themselves a lot of trouble down the line.

 _(This is the first time Reborn is wrong about Tsuna. He does in fact survive longer than 5 minutes in Frederico di Vongola's hands, though Tsuna might wish otherwise some days because Frederico and his women have always liked them young and Vidic only needed Tsuna's body intact.)_

When Reborn finds himself maneuvered in teaching Tsunayoshi Sawada to take over the Vongola, he's furious. Given Iemitsu's reports and own observations he doubts Tsuna's changed all that much from that fluffy 5 year old he saw pictures of so many years ago to growing into a lazy, stupid teenager if that fact Tsuna seems to have managed fail two grades is any indication.

Clumsy, lazy, stupid and unobservant are his first impressions of the boy, he can't be called anything else right now of course and Reborn's temper runs a little hotter realizing that _he's going to be stuck teaching this moron until the brat gets himself killed or Nono finally kicks the bucket_ _ **and that could be years from now.**_

So no, he's not all that thrilled with this arrangement and the sooner he makes that clear to the brat the sooner they can get to work.

 _(Reborn is wrong about this too, on all counts. But sometimes we see what we expect, not what is true.)_

Reborn is exhausted because teaching Tsuna is so, so much harder than teaching Dino ever was and he doesn't understand why. Objectively, he understands Tsunayoshi had been a civilian right up until Nono decided to send the Vongola crashing into his life, but personality wise Tsunayoshi and Dino are pretty much the same. It should be easy enough to whip Tsuna into shape, easy enough to give Nono the heir that he wants.

Except… except that it isn't. It's like Tsunayoshi is resisting every attempt Reborn makes to help him grow as a Boss, help him bond with his future subordinates and Reborn just doesn't understand how it keeps happening. Tsunayoshi is young enough to mold into a suitable heir, and while he protests pretty much everything Reborn throws at him it's not like he's actively resisting the training. But it's so irritating and some days he wants curl up in a corner and scream because _he just doesn't understand why Tsunayoshi is so difficult._

It's like Reborn is trying to tell Tsuna 1+1=2 and Tsunayoshi comes up with the answer of 1+1= Purple. It's absolutely infuriating. And maybe it doesn't help that Tsunayoshi still, after all these months, looks at him with such distrust in his eyes and frankly, he doesn't feel he deserves that. It should be clear at this point that yes, Reborn is a hitman who has killed people but no, Tsunayoshi isn't his target, so if he could please stop acting like _Reborn is going to slit his throat the second Tsuna lets his guard down_ _ **it would much appreciated**_.

 _(Reborn is wrong about this too. Tsuna isn't Vongola, he never will be, and he understands that it's Nono who gives Reborn his orders. Like hell Tsunayoshi is going to make things easy for him. Tsunayoshi does not trust easily.)_

Despite these rough patches, Reborn can honestly say he really does like Tsunayoshi. It surprises him, because the list of people Reborn will willingly spend time with won't fill a post it note, but he honestly just likes the kid.

(Who come to think of it, doesn't act much like a kid at all. Tsunayoshi is oddly mature for civilian boy, but taking a good look at his mother, maybe that's not entirely surprising.)

He's pleasantly surprised to find that, despite his initial observations, Tsuna isn't a lazy idiot. He's clumsy yes, but Reborn can already see that he's going to grow out of that. It seems like Tsuna sometimes just misjudges his reach and overcompensates which throws him off-balance. Well he's a growing teenager, so that's not totally unexpected and when Tsuna's in Hyper Dying Will Mode, Reborn can see the poise and grace his student is going to be capable of, once he grows into his own body. And Tsuna certainly isn't stupid, which is a relief. Reborn finds Tsuna learns best when he's interested or at least motivated and Reborn is really, really good at providing motivation if Tsuna seems to be lacking it.

But more than that, Tsuna is thoughtful and insightful. He might not be the best at bookwork but Reborn is often pleasantly surprised at Tsuna's critical thinking skills. He's very practical and observant, but still sensitive to the people around him which is a good skill for a Mafia Boss to have and Reborn is pleased that Tsuna already possesses it. He can be surprisingly philosophical though, which Reborn finds a bit odd, but everyone has their little quirks. It leads to some interesting discussions if nothing else.

Tsuna's constant napping seems to be a result of the Vongola's famed Hyper Intuition, and not just teenage laziness, though he could see how easy it was to make that mistake. Shortly after his arrival in the Sawada household, he noticed how light a sleeper Tsuna was during the night, which he compensated for by being exhausted and napping when the sun came up. It took awhile, but Reborn thinks he's a least made some progress correcting that issue.

And his Flames, ohhhhh his Flames. Reborn has never seen a Sky burn so brightly, or learn so intuitively. Tsuna's already so good at using them in combat, so if Reborn can just get him to learn the less martial applications of Flame Usage he'll never have to worry about loyal subordinates again. The Underworld will bow at his feet and Reborn really wants to be there for the day they realize how glorious his student really is.

 _(This is never going to happen, because Tsuna is not a ruler. Reborn can play at being Kingmaker as much as he wants to, but Tsuna believes in freedom and choice far too much to ever govern anything. The Brotherhood is a loose collective of like-minded individuals and none of them have ever sought to rule. They are teachers at heart and rebels in their souls and none have ever done well when subjected to Tyranny, much less tried to support it.)_

So it's understandable that when Reborn was expecting a mafia heir and Tsunayoshi was anything but, that the lines of communication got crossed somewhere along the line and Reborn missed a couple of important things. But that was ok because even if Tsuna wasn't going to be Vongola Decimo, Reborn decided long ago he would follow him to the ends of the Earth if he had too.

It was just a good thing Reborn was so used to adapting.

* * *

And after all that worry; all those fights to prove he was worthy of running the Vongola; all that trouble with the Trinisette, the Vindice and Kawahira; it was unbelievably easy to convince the Vongola he couldn't be heir after all. So, ridiculously easy and he hadn't even had to do anything. It just turned out Tsuna couldn't actually manage the one thing the mafia felt was inherent in running a family.

The Vongola couldn't have a Boss who was incapable of Harmony.

It was so ridiculous he couldn't help but laugh.

It starts off simply enough. Just an everyday training session with his Guardians (which have become the norm ever since the Representative Battle) but with a small difference i.e. The Varia. This is enough to have all of his Guardians having small, collective hissy fits, but Tsuna doesn't really mind. He likes the Varia. While a bit ostentatious for his Assassin sensibilities, he can't deny their strength, skills and competency. Especially their competency. Seriously, the way to Tsuna's heart in every life he has ever lived has been a person's competency levels.

(It's probably why he likes Reborn so much, come to think of it. Even if life would be easier most days if he didn't.)

This trait is also incidentally why he doesn't trust his Guardians. While he acknowledges logically that they are only fourteen and thus, provided they aren't killed, will probably grow into independent, competent adults eventually…

(He silently prays for this every night. Even as Ezio and Altair's memories of training novices encroach on his mind and nourish the seeds of doubt he's had since about Minute 1 of meeting his prospective Guardians.)

So he goes through the motions of a regular training session, though Reborn appears to be trying to make some sort of point with this one, regardless of the Varia's presence. He also notes both Xanxus and Squalo's eyes on him frequently, which his Guardians don't notice. He's not really concerned by this, but as they seem to be waiting for something he makes a note of it and continues on as always. This has the effect of irritating the absolute crap out of Reborn for some reason, which is always entertaining, for both himself and his ancestors.

Most people would classify him as insane for deliberately irritating the World's Greatest Hitman for the entertainment value, but most people also don't have several of the Greatest Assassins to ever live as ancestors and living in their head. Tsuna figures not only does that screw with his perception of what brilliance in killing people and not getting caught is, it also makes him clinically insane in a much more obvious way.

But whatever, he might not be deliberately trying Reborn to the edges of his patience on purpose right now, but he finds it entertaining regardless. That is until Connor notes that Reborn is so upset right now because whatever the Boss of the Varia and his Second are waiting for isn't happening.

(They wrap up and he feels Xanxus's eyes on him the whole way back to the house. When he meets them, he gets chills down his spine, because Xanxus looks worried and concerned. That's enough to get him to talk to Reborn later, not that it nets him any particular answer.)

* * *

The way Reborn explains Harmony to him has Tsuna thinking that not only is it completely bullshit, but also that somewhere along the line the Templars decided they needed to control this emerging population of Flame Users and took steps to brainwash them the way the Templars have been doing to various peoples for centuries.

 _(Tsuna finds out early on just exactly what Abstergo does to control the Flame Active population and is as sickened by its purpose as he impressed by its brilliancy. As he dumps soda and juice down the drain while explaining his active, healthy lifestyle idea to his mother, he swears he's going to be very careful about what kinds of food he puts into his body from now on. Abstergo had really been playing the long game with chemicals needed for Flame Suppressants and how to get them to react properly inside the human body.)_

Harmonization, as Reborn had explained sometime before the Ring Battles, is the process by which a Sky Flame User solidifies and controls his bonds with his various Elemental Guardians. As the Sky harmonizes with its Elements, those Elements then become bound to the Sky to provide a home and a purpose for them. Thus, the sooner Tsuna harmonized with his Guardians, the more stable their circle would become. Skies were very rare and Elements naturally gravitated to Harmonize with them.

 _(Which was absolutely untrue, he later found out. Meiling and the Zomians ran the data and found out that yes, if you divided the data by Elements to Skies there were a whole lot fewer Skies. But if you just grouped by Flame Type that Skies weren't really any more rare than anyone else. Abstergo just had an annoying tendency of encouraging this myth and creating an artificial shortage of Skies in the mafia when necessary.)_

So naturally, all of this sounded very suspicious and circumspect to Tsuna as an Assassin of the Brotherhood that preached free will and choice above all things. The foundations upon which societies were based were extremely fragile after all. Subsequent questioning had Reborn assuring him that this was a natural process that occurred when Skies found Elements and he shouldn't really worry over the details. The ensuing beat down that occurred when Tsuna asked Reborn if that made him one of Tsuna's Elements was epic and solidified in his mind the complete bullshit of Harmonization.

Because Reborn looked scared when Tsuna suggested that the Hitman belonged to him and that was enough for Tsuna to decide not only was this idea of Harmonization completely unnatural but also that Reborn knew firsthand just how toxic it was.

* * *

It's Iemitsu who brings things to a head, ironically enough. Considering the fact that his asshole father got him into this mess in the first place, it's almost poetic that Iemitsu's actions are also what get him out of it.

 _(Not that Tsuna ever believed for a moment he was really going to be taking over the reigns for the Vongola. At best, his ancestors had murmured, he was going to be installed as a puppet to be controlled while Iemitsu ruled from the shadows given Tsuna's apparent status as a civilian. At worst, Ezio had added, well the fact Vongola Nono had sent the World's Greatest Hitman as his tutor was telling as to Nono's plans if Tsuna proved too uncooperative.)_

Shortly after the Varia leave to go do whatever it is they do when not bothering Tsuna and his friends, Iemitsu comes home again! And he brings a group of people comprising of his favorite friends from work to meet his darling wife and son! And of course he wants to spend some quality time with Tsuna! Yay!

This is basically what Tsuna gets out of his mother's excited babbling when he arrives home from school and sees Iemitsu sitting at the table with what can only be described has his own group of Guardians. And he notices Reborn (who looks about 10 years old now and whose growth his mother still has not commented on, not that Tsuna was really expecting her to at this point) pull his fedora down in front of his eyes, Dr. Shamal standing near him and Tsuna realizes whatever is going on, it's probably going to be very, very bad.

He feels Clay take over then, and slips back out of the driver's seat of his own body to observe what's going on with his ancestors because he has a feeling that whatever goes down, this time he's going to need their wisdom and support to get through it without blowing his cover completely out of the water.

 _(Tsunayoshi has been on a communications blackout with the Brotherhood for the better part of two years now, interspersed with the occasional update he can make whenever they all feel comfortable to make contact and it's times like this he fiercely misses his team even if he hasn't told them exactly about Altair and the others. But what's the use of having voices in your head if you don't listen to them occasionally?)_

His friends, like always, neither notice the switch nor the subtle political undertones in the conversation and situation. In fact, they all react rather predictably by which he means chaotically and immaturely, except this time Tsuna has the benefit of being able to observe rather than having to restrain Gokudera, Yamamoto and the kids, so he notices Dr. Shamal's frown, the worry in Reborn's eyes and the utter derision in Iemitsu's and his subordinates.

Definitely not good.

* * *

The beginning of the end starts like this: Iemitsu challenges Tsuna to a sparring match.

Iemitsu and his subordinates against Tsuna and his Guardians with Dino (who has arrived in the meantime, and Tsuna is beginning to wonder exactly where Dino finds the time to visit Japan as frequently as he does) and his subordinates officiating. And though Tsuna knows he's going to be overruled, he makes the expected protests anyway. His ancestors wait in anticipation because Altair called dibs awhile back on Iemitsu's death, should the opportunity arise, and in sparring matches well, _**accidents happen**_ **.**

The first clue something is wrong is that Reborn backs him up, citing that Iemitsu just fought Tsuna in the Representative War and really, testing him like this is utterly unnecessary. The second bell goes off in Tsuna's head when Iemitsu says it's fine, because Nono asked him to evaluate Tsuna and Reborn looks ready to argue anyway.

The alarms really start going off when, in the middle of the fight with all his Guardians done for the count including Hibari, and with Altair driving their shared body- Altair takes a knockout hit from Basil and goes down. And then he doesn't let any of them get Tsuna back up.

Iemitsu's team wins.

Tsuna gets his body back much later, and wakes up in what he thinks is a hospital. His (perfectly justified) panic attack is cut short by the arrival of Dr. Shamal and an angry looking Reborn, who proceeds to tell him they have to have a meeting and to go get his Guardians. Tsuna is about to protest but Reborn looks at him and Tsuna's breath catches and his protests die in his throat because Reborn looks like he's about to cry.

And that scares Tsuna more than anything.

* * *

This is how the Vongola's Death Knell rings:

After Tsuna gathers his Guardians and settles them in his living room (as much as his friends ever settle), Shamal and Reborn come in. And then Reborn silences them with a blast of killing intent so severe that Tsuna wonders how exactly he ever doubted Reborn's boasts.

(Shuts his friends up pretty quick though, and Tsuna wonders if he's a bad person for the satisfaction he gets when he watches them realize just how dangerous Reborn actually is. Because even Hibari shrinks in his seat, apparently recognizing just outclassed he is.)

Then Shamal, in what Tsuna recognizes as a calm and professional tone (which he's surprised at because 'Shamal' and 'professional' aren't words that fit together in his head), delivers The Bad News, which is actually a prognosis about Tsuna and his health. Considering the way Reborn is gripping Tsuna's hand in an attempt to keep himself calm and not kill anyone who moves, Tsuna supposes the news deserves the distinction of capitalization. Not that he has any basis for comparison.

Shamal's Bad News is this: Tsunayoshi has been badly "Scorched". This means that his "Flame System" (which Tsuna didn't even know existed before this conversation) has been nearly destroyed. They aren't sure how this happened, but given the extent and type of damage, sometime is Tsuna's life he met another Sky and refused to submit to them. They suspect this unknown Sky inflicted damage that Tsuna hadn't been aware of, as he was unaware of the existence of Flames in general, and the subsequent liberal application of both Dying Will Bullets and Pills, as well as the jump into Ultimate Dying Will Mode to take on Bermuda, have taken such a toll that he is beyond ever recovering from the damage. In short, he'll never be able to Harmonize.

Tsuna takes moment to wrap his head around this, and translate it into something he can understand. Then he starts laughing hysterically.

The absolute pity in his friends' eyes makes him laugh even harder.

They take the news well, all things considered. Reborn takes Tsuna out of the room to calm down, but it just makes Tsuna laugh longer and harder because Reborn is so certain this is his fault and Tsuna just gets the irony of it all. Activating the Apple of Eden that day took so much effort and defying Juno took so much more, but even Tsuna hadn't been able to miss that all three Precursors had glowed with an orange aura. For once, this absolutely not Reborn's fault and well, Tsuna's been broken and damaged for so long now that's it's just hilarious someone's finally noticed.

He laughs so hard he cries, and if Reborn holds him and rocks him back and forth, trying to comfort him, well Tsuna isn't going to reject him. Even if the Hitman has absolutely no idea what's really causing Tsuna's mini breakdown.

He falls asleep in Reborn's arms and wonders what's going to happen now.

* * *

What happens is that life goes on.

Tsuna gets a visit from Nono in person and with Reborn standing at behind him, receives the news that he isn't a viable heir for the Vongola anymore. Nono breaks this news gently, almost like he doesn't want to hurt Tsuna, but it all boils down to Tsuna's inability to Harmonize. Tsuna cries anyway (but with relief not sorrow, because every path he could think of refusing the Crown led to so much blood and death and war) and Reborn steadies him through the conversation because he understands what's going to happen. As much as Nono wants to be a loving grandfather, he is also the Don of the biggest crime syndicate in the world and he needs a proper heir. Tsuna gives Nono back the ring and leaves, wondering just what's going to happen next.

 _(But Reborn let Timoteo know how this was going down and where he stood in no uncertain terms before this meeting. He isn't losing Tsuna just because the boy isn't useful to Nono anymore. And Nono had agreed, because Tsunayoshi had done so much for Reborn that even Nono wasn't going to try to budge the Hitman from his side.)_

Tsuna starts his final year at Namimori Middle with little fuss or ceremony, but it's different. His friends, for lack of a better word, drift away. It's not all at once, but there's definitely a sense of distance that wasn't there before. They aren't in his face every second of the day now, relying on him to solve all their problems and clean up their messes. But they can't be Guardians now, so every interaction has the undertone that Tsuna's failed them in someway, that it's Tsuna's fault he can't live up to their standards.

Tsuna expected this. But he doesn't expect it to hurt as much as it does. He was never going to be Vongola Decimo, but he'd hoped being just Tsuna would be enough for them, that friendship without that kind of status was enough.

Apparently not.

 _(It's enough for Reborn though, who still sticks around to tutor and train him, even if the sense of urgency is gone from their interactions. Reborn's about sixteen physically now and has moved on from sleeping in a hammock to sharing a bed with Tsuna now. Which Tsuna admittedly would be more weirded out by if he wasn't older than he looked and also hadn't spent 2 years in various cramped quarters with his team, travelling around on poorly funded adventures.)_

But the Vongola isn't about to let their investment go entirely to waste. They may not be able to have Tsuna, but his friends are fair game. So they drift away, and suddenly Tsuna has a lot more unsupervised free time on his hands, which he uses to actually get relevant things done (the Temple open and explored, making contacts, gathering Intel on Abstergo, and on one occasion breaking open a Templar Den in Kyoto) and the Vongola reap their harvest.

By the time graduation rolls around, most of Tsuna's friends have gone off with their respective mentors, his father has moved his mother and the kids to Italy, the girls have gone to high school out of town, he has less contact with the mafia than he has in years and it's just him and Reborn alone in the house.

* * *

This is how it Begins:

It's the middle of the night and school's been out about a week now. His mission for the Brotherhood in Namimori is over and has yielded an artifact, which he thinks is probably the Shroud of Turin. Shaun will be over the moon, assuming Tsuna can get it to him without being intercepted.

He's lying semi-asleep in bed with Reborn curled around him and he's trying to decide what he should do next, The Apple in his hands as he contemplates glows slightly, like it wants to wake up. Shamal is around somewhere, probably not sleeping yet. He'd been reluctant to leave for some reason.

Tsuna's done what his future self suggested. Not only has he freed the Arcobaleno, he's replaced the keystones and the Vindice stand as their Guardiansand he is in possession of all the old Arcobaleno pacifiers. Not that the Vindice know that, he kinda wonders about Talbot sometimes, why that man seems to know so much about what's going on but that's a problem for another day.

And, quite unexpectedly, he's free of the Vongola and has the means to trap Juno provided he can figure out how to do that. Now he just has to figure out what to do next.

And then the phone rings.

 _-FIN-_

 _Reviews feed the hungry author!_


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